We live in an incredibly distracted world. With our phones buzzing, headlines on cable news flying by, and social media feeds constantly scrolling, it is so easy to get distracted from your business goals. But lack of focus can be a death sentence for your entrepreneurial dreams, and leave you dissatisfied, frustrated and overwhelmed. If you’re feeling out-of-touch, bewildered or pulled in a thousand directions, check in with these top strategies to stay focused as an entrepreneur.
- Stay in touch with what you really want. With my clients, I find when there isn’t a strong vision or that vision has been lost, they are prone to distraction, overwhelm, and disappointment. That’s the moment you end up starting a side business selling pet frog underwear and own several frog related domain names, and six months later, you have no idea why.
Create a vision for your business that’s so compelling that it pulls you forward and your steps to get there become crystal clear. Try writing out a detailed vision of what you’d like your business to look like in three years. Literally, what does an ideal day in your business look like? What does your life look like outside of your business? Get super clear. Come back to this vision whenever you feel yourself getting distracted and ask yourself, “Does this get me closer to my ultimate vision for my life and my business?” and come back to this in moments you’re feeling pulled away.
- Ignore what other people are doing. Once you choose a strategy that fits both you and your business, commit to a set amount of time before you change it up. All marketing or business strategies need TIME to work. Changing things before you have enough feedback or data to know if it’s working dilutes your energy, a precious resource for entrepreneurs. If you hear a new idea and you love it. but know it’s a distraction right now, keep a running list (somewhere out of sight) to revisit if you do decide to pivot.
- Don’t try to do everything yourself. I see entrepreneurs frequently get mired by tasks that don’t give the best ROI (Return on Investment). This leads to loss of focus and detracts from activities they could be doing that are both more enjoyable and actually make money.
Make a list of what things ONLY you can do. Everything else is fair game. If you hate doing it, it takes you a long time, or it doesn’t directly contribute to creating revenue, it’s ripe for pausing, stopping altogether, or contracting out. You’ll be happier, results will be better, and you can spend more time in your own zone of genius making your business more profitable.
- Protect your time for big picture creative thinking and personal development. Block “think” time every single week on your schedule. The most successful CEOs do this. It gives you time to zoom out and consider if all the moving parts of your business are actually working together to move you forward. It gives you time to learn and enrich your knowledge in your area of expertise, leading to inspiration that will help you serve your audience or customers even better. This is not “unproductive” time – it’s essential.
- Connect with a Mastermind group. Find a group people who will remind you of the vision you said you wanted, keep you accountable to following through, and help you brainstorm with your goals in mind when you do need to make adjustments. If you’re not sure where to find a mastermind, create one!
Who do you know that could form a Mastermind group with you? If you need help figuring this out, grab my free “Find Your People” Workbook here. If you have a group of people in mind but aren’t sure how to start a Mastermind group that will thrive, grab my E-kit here.
- Trust your gut, but also get an outside perspective. Shiny-object syndrome affects us all. You just finished taking a course or listening to an awesome podcast, and suddenly, you feel the need to change everything because OMG, it will be so amazing! Whoa there, Nellie. Before you gallop right off a business cliff, find a biz bestie, a mentor, or a coach to talk it through. One-on-one time with someone you trust who can give you an outside perspective helps to process new ideas without losing sight of what’s most important. I am 100 percent for trusting your gut and believe you are the ultimate expert on your own business, but an outside perspective can prevent impulse shifts that don’t serve you. (Shameless plug, I am a trained coach and would love to work with you! Check out the deets here).
- Make sure your business fits your unique strengths and values. To really work, your business should be in line with what makes you, well… YOU. Otherwise, something will constantly feel “off” and leave you searching. For example, if you have a strong value of creativity, but the tasks in your business are currently very repetitive, you’ll find yourself getting distracted easily. If you value connection but sell a digital product and never get to interact with your clients, you may not feel satisfied even if you’re having great sales.
Please note that when I say “values,” I don’t mean your morals or ethics. I’m referring to the things that are so deeply connected to who we are that we might not even notice them. What do you think is important? What brings meaning to your life? What lights you up as a person? The more the things we do daily connect with our deep values, the more fulfilling our lives feel.
Your business, your dreams, your vision – they are worth pursuing. Don’t let our distractible world keep you from achieving your dreams or rob your audience of what you have to offer. Staying focused on who you are, what your dream is and giving that dream the time, oxygen and fuel it needs will yield results.
Need help narrowing your focus or discovering your unique strengths as an entrepreneur? I’m here to help. Whether it’s helping you build a mastermind group that will be your touchstone when the going gets tough or working with you one-on-one as a coach, I’m ready to help you focus, fix and take flight. Contact me today.
